


Joy to the World

by agapi42



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Here is a headcanon I had, Joy Hardbroom, Pre-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 21:33:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agapi42/pseuds/agapi42
Summary: Spending Christmas with her non-magical sister and niece does not go quite as Hecate expects.





	Joy to the World

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to get this posted (a day late) for day 29 of the Winter Fluff Challenge 'Absence' and before s3 comes along to contradict it.

Ada lowered her teacup and looked at Hecate seriously. “Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? You accompanied me to see Agatha on occasion, after all.” 

Hecate closed her eyes against the upswell of longing. How much she wanted Ada beside her. But how to tell her that, as much as she had loathed every minute spent with Agatha, as much her superiority and her sly insinuations and her very presence had felt like sandpaper against her skin, she almost preferred it to visiting her own sister? To the constant checking of her natural expression, to being suffocated; smothered, if only for a few hours, in the tedium of the non-magical life? Of course Ada would come with her. And of course she would never put her in that position. 

She shook her head. “It'll be fine. I'll be back this evening. And you have that paperwork to finish.” 

“The paperwork can wait,” Ada tried; Hecate raised an eyebrow. “All right, it can't.” 

Hecate rose from the armchair, a fond smile tugging at her lips. “Most of it just needs you to sign off.” 

Ada peered up at her from the depths of her armchair. “I think you deserve another biscuit for that.” 

A ridiculous picture came into Hecate's mind: rounding the table, reaching Ada's side and bending down to place a kiss on top of her head.  

“No. But thank you again,” she said instead, crooking a finger and bringing the parcel sitting beside her recently-vacated chair into her arms. 

“You're very welcome. I hope she likes it.” 

 

Hecate transferred directly to Helena's front door. She lived in the town at the foot of the mountain, hardly a taxing distance, and the lift in the building never worked anyway. The events at Halloween had exceeded her tolerance for extensive stair climbing for the foreseeable future. 

She knocked. 

“You couldn't have changed?” Helena greeted her, opening the door. 

“Hello, Helena,” Hecate said dryly. She had thought her black blouse and new black skirt (patterned with burgundy flocked velvet, a Yule gift from Ada three days previously) both reasonably inconspicuous and a concession to the supposed festivities. “May I come in?” 

Helena stood aside and Hecate walked into the centre of the room, turning to watch as Helena closed the door behind her. 

“Joy's visiting her friend down on the fourth floor. She won't be long.” 

Hecate nodded. There was a pause. 

“Well, sit down. Do you want a cup of tea?” 

“Thank you.” She had no real desire for it but it would give her something to do with her hands. 

Helena disappeared into the small kitchen. Hecate perched on the sofa and took a moment to catch her breath, looked up at the ceiling. There was a long crack in it. It would be the work of a moment for her to fix it but no doubt Helena had noticed, would complain endlessly that her local council paid no heed, but be entirely unappreciative if the problem went away.  

 _“I don't want your magic and I_ don't _want your pity.”_  

She didn't like Helena's aversion to magic in all circumstances or her decision to bring Joy up entirely ignorant of their world but she could understand the reasoning. To be present but permanently shut out, to know what was missing... Helena had been about Joy's age when she began retreating from Hecate, stopped finding her magical tricks amusing and started resenting her abilities. Maybe one day whatever genetic knot had buried their magic would unravel and there would be a Hardbroom at Cackle's again, completely ignorant and dangerously uncontrolled, just like Mildred Hubble had been. And wouldn't _that_ befit the name of Hardbroom. 

Hecate's gaze slid from the ceiling to the walls and around. The place was tiny but it wasn't that that had her feeling so enclosed. It was the memories, memories of dreams so vivid they had significant weight, of sitting just here, facing the rest of her life with no idea of her direction.

 _She'd stumbled all the way from the castle, struggled up the stairs..._  

She shivered and came back to herself. With Helena still clattering in the kitchen, she flicked her finger against her thumb and produced a magical flame, wavering around her painted nail. Staring into its flickering light, she could breathe a little easier. 

She hastily extinguished it at the sound of the door opening. 

“Hi, Aunt Kate!” 

Hecate shuddered inwardly. She _hated_ that. Helena had introduced her as such the first time she met Joy, then two years old, and refused to call her anything else in front of Joy. 

 _“My name is_ Hecate _,” she'd hissed, as they watched Joy, entirely absorbed in her trolley of bricks._

__

_“I'm well aware of that,” Helena returned in an undertone. “I don't want_ her _to know. It's hardly an ordinary name, is it?”_

____

_“I hardly think she'll deduce the existence of the witching society from my_ name _. And neither's Hardbroom.”_

_____ _

_“No. Shame the Magic Council didn't take that into consideration when they drew up my paperwork. Hardbroom I was and Hardbroom I remain.”_

______ _ _

And Hecate had remained 'Aunt Kate', much to her displeasure. 

______ _ _

“Hello, Joy.” 

______ _ _

“Merry Christmas!” Joy flopped onto the sofa next to her. “I love your skirt.” 

______ _ _

“Thank you.” 

______ _ _

“Is that for me?” she asked, eyes on the parcel in Hecate's lap; Hecate nodded. “Are we doing presents now? Mum,” she added, as Helena reappeared carrying two mugs, “are we doing presents now?” 

______ _ _

Hecate wondered what was under the tree claiming to be from her. She had long ago given up trying to guess what Joy might want and now just gave Helena money to obtain something. She knew exactly what she would give Joy if she were a young witch—at what age she should be introduced to the core texts, when she should start riding her first broom—but instead it was all Minecraft and Little Mix and Hecate didn't understand any of it. 

______ _ _

“Why not?” Helena passed Hecate a mug. Hecate nodded in thanks. 

______ _ _

“Can I start?” Joy asked. 

______ _ _

Hecate put her mug down on the side table in order to pass Joy her parcel. “Since you're so keen. This is from my friend.” 

______ _ _

Joy grinned. “Aunt Ada?” 

______ _ _

“Ada, yes.” Ada had accompanied Hecate and Joy, aged seven, on a trip to the zoo during the summer holiday. She'd quickly won Joy's loyalty by buying her ice cream then eating her own with such enthusiasm that she got some on her nose, making Joy giggle. 

______ _ _

_“You're not at all like my headmistress.”_  

______ _ _

_Ada had winked. “I'll tell you a secret, I'm not like my headmistress either.”_  

______ _ _

_“I want to go to your school when I'm older,” Joy declared and Hecate's heart ached._  

______ _ _

_“I'm afraid you can't,” she told her niece, just like she'd told her sister three decades ago._  

______ _ _

_Joy frowned. “Why not?”_  

______ _ _

_“Our school is for girls who are very good at one thing...” Hecate trailed off._  

______ _ _

_Ada came to the rescue. “And you're good at so many things! I bet you're good at animal noises. Can you do an elephant?”_  

______ _ _

She'd been 'Aunt Ada' that day and ever since, despite Joy's contact with her being limited to heavily edited stories and the occasional gift that Hecate brought on her infrequent visits, relayed under Helena's disapproving gaze. Hecate suspected Ada had taken on something of a mythic status in Joy's mind. Possibly susceptibility to Ada's charms was genetic. 

______ _ _

Joy picked carefully at the ribbon and unfolded the paper to reveal a dark red fine-knit jumper with the same twining vines as on Hecate's skirt, picked out in black. Clearly Ada had leaned towards Joy sharing Hecate’s sensibilities rather than her own when it came to festive jumpers.

______ _ _

“Oh wow.” Joy instantly pulled it on and, discarding the paper, jumped to her feet to do a twirl. 

______ _ _

“Very nice,” Helena allowed. “Is it handmade?” 

______ _ _

Hecate reached out to touch Joy's arm, feeling the texture of Ada's protection charm under her fingertips, similar to that embedded in the fabric of her skirt. “Yes.” 

______ _ _

What Helena didn't know and couldn't possibly sense wouldn't hurt her, Hecate reasoned, and she looked consideringly back towards the ceiling. Which was why she saw the moment that it started to fall. 

______ _ _

 

______ _ _

“Hecate?!” A chair scraped. 

______ _ _

“Aunt Ada?!” 

______ _ _

Hecate's vision cleared. They were in Ada's office, all living Hardbrooms, seemingly undamaged.  

______ _ _

Ada, stopping right in front of her, reached out to close her fingers around her arm. “Are you all right?” 

______ _ _

Joy looked around with wide eyes. “Where are we?”  

______ _ _

Hecate remembered the ceiling falling. In the split-second she had had to act, she had thought of nothing but safety. Which had brought them all here to Ada. 

______ _ _

Helena still had her eyes closed and she let out her breath slowly. “I _told_ them there was water damage from that flood upstairs.” 

______ _ _

“I'm fine, Ada.” Hecate managed a smile. 

______ _ _

Ada's eyes softened. “It's a very long way to come with passengers.” 

______ _ _

“It was an emergency.” 

______ _ _

“Aunt Kate, why are we here?” Joy poked at Ada's desk as if testing its solidity.  “Where is here?” 

______ _ _

Hecate looked at Helena who shook her head resignedly. Too late to put the potion back in the bottle now. Ada gave her an encouraging smile and stepped to stand at her side, facing Joy with her. 

______ _ _

“This is Cackle's Academy, my school, where your aunt is Deputy Head. You told me you wanted to come here once.” 

______ _ _

Joy looked all around. “But we were at home. How did we get here?” 

______ _ _

Hecate steeled herself and answered Joy's question. “Magic.” 

______ _ _

Joy blinked. “Right. What magic?” 

______ _ _

“My magic.” 

______ _ _

“Your magic.” 

______ _ _

“Yes.” 

______ _ _

Joy shot a pleading look to her mother, who bit her lip and nodded, and Joy looked back to Hecate. 

______ _ _

“So are you a witch?” 

______ _ _

“Yes,” Hecate said and added, because Joy should _know_ , “The Hardbrooms are a distinguished witching family.” 

______ _ _

Joy's gaze snapped back to her mother. “Mum! Are you a witch? Am I?” 

______ _ _

“No,” Helena managed. 

______ _ _

“Why not?” Joy frowned. 

______ _ _

Helena glared at Hecate, her eyes burning with the unfairness of the universe. Hecate took a deep breath. Spell scientists had been searching for an answer to that question for decades and seemed no closer to an answer. 

______ _ _

“The craft is in decline. Not every child of a magical mother is magical themselves. Like your mother.” 

______ _ _

“So my grandmother...”

______ _ _

“I didn't tell you,” Helena said, sounding close to tears, “about any of this because I know how hard it is to grow up feeling less-than. To lack so significantly when it isn't your fault and there isn't anything you can do about it, no matter how hard you work.” 

______ _ _

Covering the distance between them in under a second, Joy threw her arms around her mother and hugged her fiercely. Helena buried her face in Joy's hair. Hecate's chest hurt; her breath caught in her throat and Ada rubbed soothing circles on her back. 

______ _ _

“But wait,” Joy said, some thirty seconds later as her mother released her, “this is the big secret no-one told me anything about? I'm not an idiot,” she added, “I knew there was something. But...” She looked over at Hecate and Ada, Ada's hand still pressed to Hecate's back “...does this mean you're not together?” 

______ _ _

Hecate flashed hot then cold. If she had given that impression, if Ada _knew_ — 

______ _ _

“It's just,” Joy continued, “I thought that was why. Why we didn't see you often, why Mum didn't like you coming over or talking about... anything, really.” She looked up to her mother. “You always got so cross when I asked Aunt Kate about Aunt Ada, I thought you didn't _approve_.” 

______ _ _

Her lips pressed tightly together, Helena shook her head. “No, Joy. No. There's nothing wrong with that at all.” 

______ _ _

“It's not the case,” Hecate said, perhaps a little sharply. The existence of the witching society was enough revelation for one day. Ada's hand left her back.  

______ _ _

“No,” Ada agreed, smiling at Joy, “it would take a better woman than me to be worthy of your aunt.” 

______ _ _

Hecate bit back the instinctive-but-all-too-revealing denial. Ada deserved the _world_. 

______ _ _

Joy looked between the two of them. “Can I still call you Aunt Ada?” 

______ _ _

“Of course. Do you like your jumper?” 

______ _ _

Joy nodded enthusiastically.

______ _ _

 “On the subject of names,” Hecate began, taking the opportunity. Given that they’d just revealed the existence of magic, she could see no conceivable reason to continue with the ‘Aunt Kate’ nonsense. “Mine is _Hecate_. I know it's not what you're used to but if you could use it occasionally, I would appreciate it.” 

______ _ _

“Yes, Aunt K-ah-tee,” Joy said, stumbling, switching names halfway through.  

______ _ _

That was even worse. Hecate hoped she wouldn't make a habit of it. 

______ _ _

Someone's stomach rumbled. 

______ _ _

“Have you had your dinner?” Ada asked. 

______ _ _

“Didn't have a chance to so much as turn the oven on,” Helena admitted. 

______ _ _

“Well, we can definitely remedy that at short notice!” Ada said brightly. “There's plenty of leftovers from our Yule feast.” 

______ _ _

Compared to the potted meal Helena would have heated through, leftovers from the Yule feast sounded incredibly appealing to Hecate.  

______ _ _

“Shall we head to the kitchens?” Ada asked. “I can have us there in a jiffy.” 

______ _ _

Helena blanched. “I think we would prefer to walk.” 

______ _ _

Joy looked disappointed. 

______ _ _

“That way I can show you something of the school,” Ada agreed. “Hecate, do you want to go on ahead and get things ready? We can meet you in the hall.” 

______ _ _

Dear, considerate Ada. Time apart to catch her breath and present things as she would like to. “Of course,” Hecate said, and raised her hand to transfer. 

______ _ _

“Wow!” she heard Joy say at this first piece of visible magic.

______ _ _

 

______ _ _

She heard them coming from some way off. Sound, as the girls never seemed to realise, carried easily in the chilly stone corridors. Joy was animatedly asking questions that Ada’s lower, quieter voice was answering. Hecate cast an eye over the table and, finding it satisfactory, stood by her chair to await their arrival.

______ _ _

“Here we are!” Ada said.

______ _ _

Joy ran up to Hecate. “Aunt—” she caught herself and stumbled into the last syllable “—te. I didn’t know you lived in a castle! I thought only knights had castles but Aunt Ada says the first headmistress of Cackle’s built the school.”

______ _ _

“That’s right,” Hecate agreed, a distinct note of pride in her voice. “Cristobelle Cackle established the very first witching academy.” She smiled at Ada over Joy’s head.

______ _ _

“Why don’t they build schools like this anymore?” Joy frowned in thought. “People might find school more interesting then.”

______ _ _

Helena came up to them. “Because it was a very long time ago and we don’t have magic to help us. This all looks very nice,” she added to Hecate.

______ _ _

Joy turned to look at the table, holding a dozen or so dishes and some tasteful but seasonally appropriate decorations. “You did all this? How? We weren’t that long.”

______ _ _

Hecate raised an eyebrow. “Magic.”

______ _ _

“Is the food magic too?”

______ _ _

“A witch cannot live by magic alone,” Helena said, seemingly surprising all three of them. Her expression quickly settled into defensiveness. “What? You weren’t the only one who memorised the Witches’ Code.”

______ _ _

Hecate thought of her sister as she had been, drilled the same long past any chance of magic appearing and able to recite any part of the Witches’ Code at the slightest prompt. Helena had told her once, “If I do turn out to be a witch, I don’t want to be behind.” She hadn’t thought any part of that girl remained.

______ _ _

Returning to the present, Hecate turned back to Joy. “Magical food has no nutritional value.”

______ _ _

“So this is real?”

______ _ _

“Really tasty, in my opinion,” Ada joked, joining them. “Grab a plate and help yourself.”

______ _ _

Joy nodded and picked up the nearest two plates, passing one to Helena before leaning over the table.

______ _ _

“What’s this?”

______ _ _

Helena answered, but Hecate’s awareness was concentrated on Ada’s hand on her arm, silently asking _Are you all right?_ She briefly covered it with her own— _Better than expected_ —and knew, with her eyes still on the table, that Ada smiled.

______ _ _

Without turning from the food, Joy asked “What’s the Witches’ Code?”

______ _ _

It was going to be an interesting lunch.

______ _ _


End file.
